COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONFermented for more than 18 months in isolation from the rest of the beers, The Dissident is a distinctive Oud Bruin, Flanders-style brown ale, with a fruity aroma and flavor, the first wild yeast beer made by the award-winning Deschutes Brewery.

To give The Dissident its characteristic sour taste the brewery used a wild yeast strain called Brettanomyces (also known as Brett) during fermentation. Known throughout the wine world for creating earthy undertones found in many European wines, Brett is used in the beer fermentation process to create strong flavors typically associated with Belgian beers. Unlike English varieties that use traditional inoculated yeasts in the fermentation process, beers made with Brett take much longer to ferment and require additional barrel finishing time to balance the sour flavoring. In the Dissident’s case, this meant aging a portion of it in pinot and cabernet barrels for over 3 months. Another key flavor component comes from the Central Washington cherries that were added twelve months ago.

Due to the wild yeast , The Dissident required special treatment and was held in isolation under lock and key apart from the rest of the brewery’s beers to avoid any cross-contamination. A secondary bottling line was also brought in from an outside contractor to facilitate The Dissident’s bottling and insure the beer and wild yeast never touched the brewery’s machinery.
With a beer this wild and truly unique, Deschutes needed a special label to alert consumers to what lay inside. The resulting image immediately sets The Dissident apart from the other Deschutes Brewery beers, even the Reserve Series beers.

The fruit and acidity in The Dissident make it ideal for pairing with a wide variety of dishes - the high acidity is perfect for cutting creamy dishes or cooling spicy ones. Because of the fruity characteristics derived from the cherries, the beer also pairs well with chocolate. Deschutes Brewery President and Founder Gary Fish recommends pairing the Dissident with “anything chocolate, the darker the better, soft cheeses like Brie and creamy dishes like spaghetti carbonara, or macaroni and cheese.”

A very limited amount of The Dissident will be available September 1st as part of the brewery’s Reserve Series in hand-waxed 22-ounce bottles...

Brown to red pour with a a fleeing white head. Big oak aroma, sweet taste not heavy on the cherry taste. heavy carbonation . This would be a good one to start someone on sours. Not an every day beer but I may have to put one up for aging

Bottle. Pours a hazy darker amber color with a smallish off-white head on there. I get wine and nose up front in the aroma, then the cherries start to come through later. Taste is fairly sour and definitely smacks of cherry. Long aftertaste that makes you pucker for a while.

Delicious. 2014 edition, drinking well before the "Best after" date but I did purchase a second bottle to age. Fizzy red pour - almost no head (dinging an appearance point for that) and 0 lacing which was a bit disappointing. Aroma of sour grapes, cherries, and wine. Quite a complex flavour, largely fermented cherries and white wine, but also has some yeasty funkiness and oak tones. Very worth checking out, and definitely worth aging. Current rating: 3.5 (as of March 2, 2015). We’ll see what it goes up to with a good cellaring!

I didn’t give a yawn for Abyss, but this is quality cherry.
Surprisingly carbonated and light opposed to my expectations
of a darker beer. I like Supplication and this has the cherry depth and wine
barrel aging that is complimentary and not cheap. A pale ruby appearance
a cool ass crow design logo on the bottle.
You would think light fizz AKA wine cooler ,
But, lo, behold a quality full bodied well blended cheery-esqe beer.
What a nice find!

2012 bottle. Very fruity esters and emons and tart overtones. The tastes are outstanding with a hint of barrel aging . Just all in the right place. Not overly puckering like some sours can be. Really stands up to age.

(2014 Reserve - 10.7%ABV) 650ml waxed top bottle pours a clear red color with a fizzy white head that dissipates quite quickly and leaves only a few spots of lacing on the glass. Aroma is cherries and wine grapes with some hints of yeast and funk. Taste is a cherry tartness with a malty sweetness and some earthy notes. Medium bodied with abundant carbonation leaving a tickle on the tongue. A tasty brew for the style and quite enjoyable.

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